Japari Park is an untamed paradise where many humanoid animals, known as "Friends," live their everyday lives in all corners of the natural environmental park.
One lazy afternoon in the savannah area, the energetic Serval encounters a peculiar new Friend. Curious, she swiftly takes down the Friend, named Kaban, to try and discover what species she is. To Serval's disappointment, not even Kaban herself knows the answer.
The two become friends and set out on a grand adventure through the many habitats, landmarks, and attractions of Japari Park. Their destination is the park library, where they hope to shed some light on Kaban’s identity. Along the way, they meet many other Friends, looking into their lives and helping them out. However, they soon begin to uncover the sinister reality behind the park and their own existence.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Reinhath
You might have heard that Kemono Friends, a CGI full length anime, is the most popular show of the Winter 2017 season in Japan. It took a LONG time for any western anime fans to even notice this show, yet alone take it seriously. But after giving it a fair chance, I truly believe that Kemono Friends is one of the most special and unique anime we have. First, I'll get a few things out of the way. The animation and art style are lacking in massive ways. I don't think anyone will try to argue with that. The voice acting is also pretty shoddy ina few places. However, there is so much more to Kemono Friends than just that.
The biggest draw of the show is that it has some of the best world-building I have ever seen in anime. Kemono Friends truly understands "show, don't tell." As the series goes on, viewers start to learn more and more about the weird and mysterious world this seemingly simple story takes place in. If you're reading this review, it's probably too late for you now, but the theory-crafting and discussions had around Kemono Friends in Japan and the western world were so much fun. By drip-feeding us information about the world, fans were able to come together week to week to discuss their new ideas and knowledge. The mystery of the park might make this one of the best mystery anime too!
The story seems simple at first; a lost girl and an animal girl wander around a park filled with animal girls trying to find out what the lost girl is. Every week, they meet other animal friends and help them with their problems as they progress towards their own goals. But the aforementioned world-building is what draws this all together. In the background of each episode, new things are added to the viewer's knowledge-bank about this unique and interesting world. As your interest in the world grows, so does your love for these relatively simplistic, but fun characters. You grow to love watching them simply have fun, as the dark past of the world unfolds.
It may sound pretentious, but Kemono Friends is not a show that you'll get the full enjoyment of just by watching and forgetting it. Kemono Friends was a show that I spent HOURS thinking about and talking about, because it was simply so amazing that I couldn't get it out of my head. I watch a lot of anime, so usually I'll watch an episode and immediately forget about it, even if it's something I love. I simply couldn't do that with Kemono Friends. It's one of the first shows of the over 300 that I watched that I wanted to discuss in-depth and engage with on all levels. And I know for a fact that it wasn't just me that felt this way, because it has truly become one of the most popular anime in Japan.
I honestly cannot predict how enjoyable this show will be outside of the special environment that existed while it was airing. Thousands of fans, albeit mostly Japanese (luckily, I understand Japanese!), came together week after week to theorize and enjoy the wonderful world of Japari Park. You might not be able to get over the art or voice acting and that's fair. But watching Kemono Friends is the most special experiences I have ever had in my life-long anime career. I don't know if anything will ever be able to replicate this feeling, but I hope that future creators take notes from Kemono Friends.
Give this show a shot, at least until episode 4. If you watch to that point and still can't get into it, it might not be for you. I 110% advise you to make your own theories about the show and THINK about it as you watch, taking breaks when possible. Go back and read the episode discussion threads on Reddit to get a sense of what people thought at different points in the show. Enjoy the wonderful fanart and other creative pieces that the huge, dedicated fanbase of Kemono Friends have made. I hope that this show gains more traction in the west, because it is so disappointing that so many western fans missed out on the magic. If anything, push through it to get ready for the inevitable (considering those sales) season 2 and prepare for a new round of magic!
Welcome to Japari Park!
SanaeK10
I don't think anyone expected much after the first episode. Indeed, the first episode was a very much dull program, there was some cute stuff in, but not much to justify continuing with the series, Kemono doesn't really start until you sit through the credits of the second episode, until which the true nature of the show finally starts revealing itself to you. It's slow it's subtle, but it doesn't bog you down with exposition dumps every five minutes (*cough*LittleWitchAcademia*cough*). Which is even moreso impressive considering this was meant to be a low budget collab for a failed mobage that's so bad it makes Kancolle lookcompetent. However, unlike Kancolle, which seems like soulless corporate drivel designed to pander to as many people as possible, there's a real heart to Kemono Friends and a real passion behind its team.
So yes, the animation is pretty crap and the anime gets pretty cringy at times, but keep in mind the target audience for this is for really young kids and the fact that adults can get a kick from the surprisingly deep lore hidden in the subtext or enjoy the show for what it is proves the strengths of this anime. And all in all, the charm of Kemono Friends is simply impeccable.
It ain't perfect, but watching this genuinely made me happy, it reminded me of simpler times and simpler shows for babies. Perhaps that's the secret after all. An enjoyable piece that relaxes the mind and puts it to ease without being condescending as most media aimed at a younger audience do.
For what it's worth, it's worth checking out.
Fircoal
I have a confession to make. When I watched the first episode of Kemono Friends with my friend we ended up setting the playback speed to 2x to get through the episode. Mind you this was back at a different time. Before anyone knew that Kemono Friends was going to be good, or be as popular as it was. Actually, it was on the day it came out. Me and my PV and studio ignoring self looked at the summary and I liked it. Kemono Friends was actually one of the shows I looked forward to this season. Before we started my friend said hehad a bad feeling about it. I told him not to jinx it, but he did. So I thought...
Kemono Friends is the perfect example of why you shouldn't drop shows. Or at least you should give shows more of a chance. I was close to dropping it myself but I didn't, and I think it was all the better for that. For each week that I watched the show, the more attached to it that I got, and the more it became to grow on me. The animation was bad but the rest was so great and so enjoyable to watch. The first episode may have been terrible but each one after that only got better and better.
Under the crappy animation and lackluster art there is a really good show here. What the show is able to do is build up this impressive lore and backstory while also exposing the viewer to the comfy times of the friends that live on the island. This gives it the feel of a children's show but it has much more to it. The comfiness on its own is nice but it's the mixture of both the darker undertones and that comfiness that really allows this show to shine. Because the two are pitting against each other in a way it creates a unique atmosphere that the show surrounds itself.
Even more impressive the show was able to foreshadow the events that would happen later as well as slowly leak out information relating to it. They are experts at doing this I would say and many things that you may pick up on early may be important later down the line. In Kemono Friends things aren't throw in haphazardly, they are there for a reason. Their ability to do this hints towards Kemono Friend's wonderful storytelling and narrative abilities.
All of the characters on Kemono Friends are likeable. They aren't the deepest but they do develop and grow over time (or for most characters over their episode). While I'd love for more depth what Kemono Friends has worked well for itself and what it's going for.
As bad as the art is it'd be expected the sound would be too. However, I really like not just the OP and the ED but also the OST. It may not be much but they do a geat job of picking the right songs to fit the right moods. Their chilling music is quite chilling and I like the use of dubstep for the cerulean moments. The playful sounds that they have during the happier moment all match the mood as well. The OST works so well together I even really like Serval's voice as well.
It may look like a bad show but Kemono Friends is anything but. It's able to provide both high moments of hype and soft moments of comfy. The balance between the lore and the comfy is just stunning. Kemono Friends took some of the best aspects of children's shows and worldbuilding lore shows and shoved them together. And the result was something well worth watching.
VirtuaSphere
Question: Should I watch Kemono Friends? Answer: If you have any interest at all in Kemono Friends, then you should watch the first episode. If you get through the first episode and like it at all, or still have interest in the series, then you should watch the second episode. If you get through the second episode without dropping the series because it looks bad or seems too childish or simplistic, then you will have no trouble watching the whole thing, and let me tell you, the viewer who sticks around for the whole show is in for an absolute treat. Dig inand enjoy.
So, what is Kemono Friends? There are two main answers to this, depending on what you focus on.
Firstly, Kemono Friends is a show made with the idea of being enjoyable for everyone. It is made in a style similar to that of a children’s show, and the producer has said that it was done that way with the intention of it being family-friendly, which it succeeds at, with only a couple of points that could even be considered questionable throughout the entire series. It is a story about Kaban-chan going on an adventure across different biomes of an expansive zoo; meeting various animals-turned-people, called Friends, along the way; and overcoming the various challenges that present themselves along with the Friends’ support. The story is charming, which even the 3D CG ends up contributing to. Kemono Friends is definitely not the best looking show of the season, but the artists did a great job of bringing what they made to life. The Friends aren’t humans who look like animals, they’re animals who look like humans, by which I mean they maintain their animal traits and behaviors. The Friends don’t know how to read, they don’t know how to use or make tools, and usually they’re found doing things you would expect them to do if they were still normal animals. It’s a kind of characterization that I’ve never seen in anime before, and it works well.
Secondly, Kemono Friends is a mystery series; not the kind of mystery where there’s a crime to solve, but rather it’s a mystery about what exactly is going on. I don’t mean that the series makes you feel lost or confused in the moment, this was never the case, instead the series makes you wonder about larger questions, such as where is this all taking place, is there something more going on here, and what, exactly, is a Friend. There’s a subtlety to the writing and the setting that I’ve never seen anime do as well as Kemono Friends. Gradually the pieces of the puzzle are put into place, episode by episode, rather than in huge lore dumps that fill the whole picture in at once. This means that while the picture is slowly being filled in you can make guesses as to what it will turn out to be, which makes the story engaging.
To wrap things up, I want to say that Kemono Friends has earned its popularity. The series exploded in popularity in Japan essentially overnight, a third of the way into the season. That outpouring of fan support is what originally got me to give the series a second chance myself, and I’ve been hooked ever since. The first episode can be rough at times, but trust me that the staff has succeeded at polishing it into a gem of a show. To those of you willing to give Kemono Friends a chance, welcome to Japari Park.
Googolplexbyte
Just watched the finale, it made me cry and I'm still crying half an hour later. This show is clever, in its writing, in the way it strategically employed the scarce resources it had. in the way it uses it's setting to educate, in the way its plot development mirrors the development behind the show, in the way it builds intrigue and spurs discussion with its more subtle elements. And it all does with a cute simple story and characters that anyone can love. All this make the show great and promise a great future not just for the series itself but for the series it will inspire.
carrotcub
"The real treasure is the friends made along the way." What is often said as a joke lies at the heart of what makes Kemono Friends so great. Our heroines, Kaban and Serval are on a simple journey to find out what kind of animal Kaban is and meet other animals or "friends" along the way. We quickly see this story of "girl explores land filled with animal people with her animal companion" become so much more however. We see Kaban go from having no memories to creating new ones to cherish. Serval finds a new best friend and the friends they meet on their journey areimpacted by their small acts of selflessness in a big way. In short, Kemono Friends is about the joy of meeting and forming bonds with other people.
What made me so excited for Kemono Friends each week was seeing the next of chapter of friendship and adventure unravel. Kemono Friends was a joy and it will be missed.
fufuf
Kemono Friends is the My Little Pony of anime. Both franchises exploded in popularity after their shows aired, notably gaining an audience of adults. When My Little Pony was popular, I couldn't understand bronies and what they saw in MLP. Today, I can't understand what people see in Kemono Friends. The story is ridiculously simple. The main character, Kaban, travels around with Serval to different habitats and meet different friends along the way. The closest thing to an actual plot or goal is that at first the two of them are traveling to a library to learn what kind of animal Kaban is, but this getsfigured out before they even go to the library and the discovery adds absolutely nothing to the plot. It rinses and repeats the "meet new friends" junk for every episode with some little things thrown in here and there. People claim there are some "deeper, darker elements" to this story, but those elements are neither dark nor deep. The show's very obviously for children and as such these "dark elements" are hardly dark, not even for a children's show. If anything, it's just a very, very basic conflict.
The animation is incredibly awful. I have yet to see an all CGI anime that looks good, but this one was probably the worst that I've seen. The movements of the characters are very stiff and awkward. The characters suffer from sameface and all have the same bodies (not including their hair, but most anime seems to rely on telling their characters apart from a glance with their hair, which is a really bad thing). The backgrounds are actually drawn (instead of modeled) and look pretty nice, which is really the only good thing I can say about the art.
The voice acting is alright. It's not really anything special. A lot of the voice actresses are amateurs, so they're pretty good for newbies, but again, nothing too special.
The characters have little to no personality. Every episode introduces a ridiculous amount of new characters only to be ditched in the next episode in favor of new soulless characters. The writers slap a quirky gimmick or two to each character and call it a personality. As such, most of them are really forgettable and bland, but that's to be expected with a show with such a large cast, right? But not even Serval and Kaban have personalities. Kaban is...smart? Serval is...outgoing? That's all I got from them.
This show is overall insultingly simple and incredibly boring. I hardly enjoyed it. It was just as boring as every other slice of life moe anime, except these moe girls are animals and it's even more dumbed down since it's for children. If you're under the age of four or enjoy kid's shows like My Little Pony and, I dunno, maybe Care Bears or Barney too, you'll enjoy this show. If you aren't, please watch literally anything but this anime.
Stanxiety
I started to watch this series in an ironic manner, to laugh at the unusual, and quite frankly not that good animation as well as the cliche moe girls. But, as it turns out, the joke was on me. Because I'm LITERALLY A 19 YEAR OLD MAN, A NINETEEN YEAR OLD GROWN MAN, A FUCKING NINETEEN YEAR OLD MAN and Kemono Friends made me want to cry, it hit me so hard. The love that blossoms between Bag-chan and Subaru-chan is beyond this world, too pure to exist in this realm. There's no way to describe the wonderful friendships of this Japanese animation. Unlike thereal world, everyone is friends here. Even a robotic tour guide shaped like a cat furby and referred to as "b0ss" becomes a loyal friend and buddy for life. You'll never find a furby like this anywhere else. There are often times when Japari Park is so immersive that I feel I am in their universe, within the wild and the kawaii kemono girls. I have found myself thinking "god I wish I were in Japari Café right now", Kemono Friends is just that great at world building.
10/10
triplefox
It's hard to write about Kemono Friends because it doesn't easily compare to anything else airing in 2017. It wears a proud low-budget aesthetic, and has no sakuga cuts, being a CG-only show - there are plenty of still shots, mistimed or absent lip flaps, reused poses and cycles, and unfinished-looking backgrounds. The studio is an unknown, and so are the voice actors. Despite this it has the trappings of being a major franchise, with a huge cast of characters, a solid adventure/mystery plot, and tasteful application of moe, with the additional wrinkle of plotting that shares some lineage with American cartoons and movies aswell as the anime/manga/light-novel sphere - Disney shows such as Gravity Falls or Ducktales come to mind as apt comparisons, or perhaps Spielbergian film such as E.T. or Jurassic Park.
If I had to pick one thing that defines the show, it's a "can-do" spirit of self-confidence permeating it, the kind of spirit I recall from 1970's-era anime. The characters are stereotypical in that their personality is approximately like watching videos of wild animals, but they aren't cynical, neither do they slot directly into the cliches common to comedy anime. And there are many, many characters to pick favorites from. It's all very sincere and upbeat, even as the plot and worldbuilding elements add a darker framing: Every interpersonal conflict has a happy end, here. The Friends are happy to meet each other. They help each other out.
The impoverished nature of the production also has a side-effect of adding dynamic range, in those moments where the camera actually moves or a unique animation is used. But it is all jarring at first, in the same ways that old, low-budget anime tends to be jarring. Plausibility concerns are often ignored in favor of getting a great moment. Judging by the popularity, it works for most people. Give it a few episodes to warm up.
Edit: Some additions after viewing the final episode. One of the stronger technical points of the series is the soundtrack. It's mostly fitting and at times, pretty exciting. The conclusion really hammers home the themes of friendship and learning, and it leaves a setup for future installments that leaves a few potential plot threads open, vastly expanding the scope of the world beyond Japari Park. And it bears repeating that there really isn't another show quite like this one.
Lambda_Delta
Kemono Friends is a show that requires patience. It's maddening how well this show surpassed my expectations, in ways I could never expect. Kemono Friends takes place on the island of Japari Park, which is subdivided into various areas based on geographic features such as the Savannah and Jungle for example. Our main characters Kaban-chan (a human to us, but a mysterious creature to the animals of Japari Park) and Serval-chan (a humanoid serval) travel through Japari Park in search of what kind of animal Kaban-chan is. On their journey, they encounter various anthropomorphic representations of animals in their respective habitats. The anime is episodic innature, with slice-of-life and comedic elements as well. I've had many memorable laughs throughout the show. It seems to possess its own charm that is difficult for me to put into words. One who is briefly inspecting this anime upon curiosity may make the fool-hardy judgement of labeling it as just "a kids' anime;" however, that is not entirely the case. Throughout the series, their is an underlying post-apocalyptic/human abandonment theme that can be seen through the abandoned buildings, structures, and vehicles throughout Japari Park. It's clear that Japari Park was inhabited and maintained by humans for quite some time before being abandoned after a disaster of some sort years before the anime takes place. It's quite an impactful thought to keep in mind. Another subtle theme present in this anime is how Kaban-chan's journey represents human evolution in terms of geographical diffusion and human technology. Kemono Friends begins in the Savannah, which represents the cradle of civilization - the birth place of mankind. Kaban then travels through the jungle, mountains, desert, and onwards, as we can similarly trace through the diffusive movements of ancient humans from Africa outwards. As for technology, Kaban-chan highlights the various technologies that eventually lead to civilization, such as construction, use of tools, fire, and writing. This is all done in a very meaningful manner.
In terms of music, the bgm and sound effects are cute and fitting, but nothing that really stands out too much. The most memorable one for me was some sick trap beat from the snow episode. The opening is extremely catch though (please approach with caution, seek rehabilitation if the addiction affects your daily life). The ending theme is great, yet not as addicting as the opening. What makes it superb is how it resonates with the underlying post-apocalyptic theme I mentioned earlier, through the visuals of an abandoned theme park. I've also heard the lyrics support this as well, but don't quote me on it.
And now, let's talk about animation. It's pretty BAD (this is quite a lenient euphemism to describe it). I can, however, be a little forgiving considering the show was made by 10 people at an amateur studio with a piss-poor budget. If I had to anything positive to say in this regard, it's that such poor animation can only leave room for improvement.
Another consideration to keep in mind: Art doesn't carry a story or one's enjoyment of it. That isn't to say its an element to be discarded when reviewing an anime, but it's something that shouldn't be weighted equally with aspects such as character development or plot.
But overall, the juxtaposition of such terrible animation and production value with a simple, yet fulfilling story that possesses meaningful layers of depth to it actually swelled my enjoyment for this anime. I would say it lent the anime a bit of charm that makes it feel unique.
7.5/10
Eira_99
If you don’t want spoilers then don’t read this review but know that if you’re not sure about this show or didn’t like the first few episodes, you have to give it another chance. Kemono Friends is amazingly unique and I love it. *contains spoilers* Expectations: When Kemono Friends first started airing I originally dismissed it completely, a shitty CG show based off a failed mobile game, how could it be any good. And in a season full of lacklustre anime based off mobile games? No thanks. So I didn’t think about it much and just didn’t watch it. But then it got very, very popular! While it wasairing a friend of mine kept telling me about it and I kept seeing Japanese meme videos about it. So I noticed that many people were watching it and loving it. However the only good thing I heard about it was that it had hints of taking place in a post apocalyptic world but that was about it. So I continued to disregard, thinking it was still a bad show but that people liked it cause it was good meme fuel and some low tier world building was there. But let me tell you something, BOY WAS I WRONG!
Subtle world building:
Kemono Friends has an interesting and deep world that explains itself to the audience in an organic way that I wish more shows strived for. It’s a prime example of world building done right, things feel like they exist because they’re a part of the world and not just because the show needs them for the plot. The history of the world feels real because people don’t just start it explaining it for no reason. Think about it, no one in the real world randomly brings up how the combustion engine works and the influence it’s had on the world, because it’s a normal and accepted thing within our world and we can assume that while not everyone understand is deeply everyone knows what it is and knows on a basic level how cars work.
Many things are left up to the imagination or aren’t fully explained until a time when it’s more natural for it to happen. This is made even more obvious by the way it uses generic tropes for a different reason to the norm, only showing how unique it can really be. We have our protagonist and she’s the generic ‘I don’t know anything about this world’ like an isekai protag or a transfer student, someone who isn’t familiar with the world. However most anime will use this aspect to get away with having other people explain everything to the protagonist and by proxy, the audience. However long exposition spouts never occur and instead we see our protagonist slowly and naturally get use to the world and discover things about it on her own. Other characters also just assume she should know more than she does and that she’s a part of the world and thus they don’t explain what they think is normal to her, they only do so if prompted by her asking.
It also helps that you’ll usually figure things out on your own, either that or at the same time as the characters. You’re never confused about what’s going on or what the show is trying to say. By the end all the questions you would of had have been answered and most of the time you’ll be able to reach that answer yourself if you’re paying attention. Which is again because the world exists and thus you can notice things within it even if they’re not crucial to the plot at that given time. And it feels good when you figure things out and learn about the world naturally instead of an episode 1 speech that just explains everything about the world.
But don’t worry, even if you can’t figure things out on your own the show will explain everything to you. However it still avoids exposition dumps by giving out explanations in small chunks, basically this is when the characters in the world learn about them. Just like I said before nothing is randomly brought up. Is someone says something then they’re saying it for a reason that makes sense within the world, it’s what they would say if this situation was real. It never feel like it’s just being said for the audience.
Friends:
The character designs are really great and I’m sure that played a part in drawing people into the show at the beginning and thus giving the show a chance. All the ‘friends’ have really nice designs, you can’t always tell what animal they’re meant to be based off of but it doesn’t matter since the show will almost always tell you. And knowing lets you pick up on nice details instead of sitting there trying to figure out what animal it is. But most of the time you can make a pretty safe guess and be right or close enough.
One of the biggest joys of each episode was seeing the new friends, it was always fun thinking ‘oh hey that animal got a friend’ and looking over the creative design and noticing cool details. The way they fused more conventional animals and humans together is fun to look at, they don’t go into furry territory either, looking more like biological humans just wearing clothing designed after animals. Maybe they’ll also have some ears or wings like an animal, overall it makes for streamlined and easy on the eyes designs.
The range of animals covered is also surprisingly large, animals are covered from all different environments and regions, it’s not locked to animals in Japan or just well known ones. Everything from penguins to lions to Tasmanian devils are included. Yes, you read that right there’s a Tasmanian devil friend, an endangered animal that only exists in a small island off the coast of Australia. Pretty well known cause of looney toons but it’s still obscure. To be fair she does only show up for one shot and doesn’t do anything or have any bearing on the plot but she’s fully designed and was able to be memorable for me.
Also it’s really easy to remembers everyone’s names since they just share their name with whatever animal they’re based off, real simple. And as for the protagonist, well she’s also got an easy to remember name, since it’s just Kaban, since she has a bag with her and no one knows what a human is for the majority of the show, thus she is named kaban and stays that way even after finding out that she’s a human.
Kaban-chan:
So very early on serval makes it clear that all the friends have one thing that makes them special and she's really confused about what makes Kaban special since as a human she doesn’t have any sharp claws or teeth, skin is soft and humans aren’t that fast, nor do they have any species specific physical features like wings or something. From right away I knew they were going to make her special thing be her innovation and ideas, since that’s just what it is in real life, humans took over the world cause of their intellect.
Serval also makes note of how Kaban doesn’t pant, which is another advantage of humans, we cool ourselves down with sweat and thus can restore stamina a lot faster than other animals and don’t need to pant.
Even in the first episode we see things like Kaban knowing how to open up a box to get something that’s inside, which serval is very surprised by. And she also makes a paper airplane to distract a cerulean.
After that it only gets more extreme, with Kaban becoming a savour that goes around solving everyone’s problems with her intellect. Fixing bridges, making signs, helping people to coordinate, resolving a civil war. Yer that last one just kinda comes out of nowhere but we get a little war episode that’s really fun cause it uses interesting friends like the chameleon friend just being able to become invisible.
The gift of Kemono Friends:
So that’s all fine and dandy, but what does the show really offer or say in the end of it all and what’s the point in watching. Well while I don’t want to act like I know what the creators intent with this show was I can say that I think it was deeper than wanting to sell the mobile game, there’s too many deeper and creative ideas going on here for it to be a glorified ad.
Personally it’s just a really fun show to watch, when I think back on Kemono Friends I primarily think of an episode set in a snowy area. The episode opens with serval and Kaban caught in a snowstorm and serval is knocked out and Kaban keeps calling her name, in the end this is a total lie and never happen. The same dialog does later but they’re not in a stressful situation nor are they in the same positions we saw at the start. But either way after that we get to see a simple episode that for awhile plays out like most others.
Kaban and serval meet two other friends and end up helping them out with some issue and hijinks ensue and world building throw in for good measure. But something sticks out about this episode which is that at one point all the girls get into a hot spring and Kaban is not sure about getting in cause she thinks she could take her clothing off first, this lead to shock from all the others girls as they didn’t know you could take them off!
Which confirms they’re almost the exact same as humans on the outside but work differently internally which just raises way too many questions. But yer they can totally take off their animal themed clothing but the point is that it was a really funny joke and maybe it doesn’t matter that much but it’s one of the most memorable part of the shows for me so I wanted to talk about it.
Lucky Beast:
The voice acting is really good, I mean overall it’s actually pretty average about what you’d expect from this show but I really like the way everyone sounds. That’s more of a personal reason to like it, cause I just like the way the voices sound, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Especially Kaban, cause she’s voiced by Ucchi! In fact Ucchi does a few characters.
Ucchi also voices Lucky Beast and Mirai. Lucky is kinda the only character that dies, although not really since his belt voice thing remains and Kaban starts wearing it around her arm and lucky can still talk from it. Lucky was weirdly charming, the way he moves and walks around is cute and he’s honesty and obviousness to the changes of the park adds a good dynamic. She only talks to Kaban since she’s a human and only allows himself to talk to the other friends when a human is in danger, which are the rules.
I actually really enjoyed lucky throughout the show and when he finally talked to several towards the end and he treats her a bit different then if she was just another friend and more like he’s actual friends with her and it just made me so happy, he does care about her he just has to follow the rules and thus can’t talk to her most of the time. I’m not gonna say it made me cry but it made me cry.
The Waterworks:
I cried a number of times throughout the series and I think that’s the sign of really good emotional storytelling, as well as an ability to make me care for the characters. Obviously this is also a very subjective aspect of the show, obviously not everyone’s going to cry at the same things that I do, but I think the fact that it made me cry is important because it means there’s a possibility for crying here, regardless of if it’ll affect you or not.
I first cried in the snowstorm episode at the start but that ended up being a fake out and during the second last episode I cried a lot towards the end. The episode was emotionally powerful thanks to the great directing. The framing of Kaban in the final moments of the episode when the cerulean comes down and consumes her is extremely sad, as well as what she says and how she says it. I know it was coming cause I had it semi spoiled for me, I knew something bad was going to happen to Kaban but even then it still made me cry.
Luckies “death” in the final episode also made me cry and you better believe I was just very teary eyed throughout the final episode overall, even once the normally sad stuff ended I was still teary eyed because the show as ending and it was just pulling off the ending so well, god I love this show.
How do I put this:
I really enjoyed Kemono Friends, the animation wasn’t a problem, I love the characters, it made me cry, and it’s overall just an anime I’m not going to ever forget about I don’t think. I LOVE Kemono Friends, it’s a great show and I’ve been struggling with writing this for so long and gone about it so many different ways cause I want to do the show justice.
In the end I don’t think I was able to explain my thoughts correctly nor was I able to truly explain what it is about this show that makes it so great and the show is so deep and has so many characters that I wish I had the time and skill to write about all of it and still keep it interesting enough for someone to read, but I don’t.
So instead I’m just going to outright say that I love the show and although I may not be able to explain it correctly I really think everyone should give this show a chance, if you skipped Kemono Friends after an episode or two or you just didn’t even try to watch it for whatever reason, then I implore you to go back and give this show a chance. It might just surprise you, it certainly did me.
I don’t know if I’ve changed anyone’s mind or if I’ve really shown anyone just how much I love this show, but I wanted to try and if it doesn’t seem like I love this show a lot then you need to know that I do, even if I can’t articulate it well.
Koutei_
I found the series to be a difficult-to-explain level of enjoyable/fun, Kemono friends makes a strong view for my most favored anime series ever. The characters and setting were very endearing, but the thing I think is really important to comment on is the CGI, it's one of the most common criticisms out there that Kemono Friends has bad CGI. However, when I watched it, it was really jarring and bad-feeling for about the first episode, hell, the first couple scenes, after that it subsided and I was pretty much just able to enjoy myself. The art, (Not the CGI) is very good, combined with the also-topsworld building makes me curious about a couple of questions that the first season never answered, in a silly way I'd really like to go live there.
The music is incredible, Namely the OP, my complaint is that the OST you can buy contains 30 songs, and the show felt like it reused a handful of them in a bunch of places, as well, some of the tracks are scattered onto "Singles" which are extremely difficult to find in the real world, and also difficult to find for downlaod online. Shame on them for not putting the OP on the official sound-track. But as this review is for the QUALITY of the sound, "ten outa ten, a mastapeice."
This series Isn't very well known in the west, but I hope that more people are able to find it.
I'm deeply saddened by the fact that the future for Kemono friends is dubious with the release of the main producer and staff (Who as I've been informed, also left the studio out of solidarity), I can only hope that the situation improves. I want to see more friends :(
TenshouYoku
Let me get this straight, Kemono Friends is painfully bad in quality, the storyboard is also painfully simple and predictable because of its "For children" nature. Why does such a sloppily-made CGI anime it suddenly exploded in Japan, then? 1. Animal Girls (known as Friends). First off, Japanese really loves turning all sorts of stuff into girls (Gijinka), as just loved watching them as much. Ranging from young, cute girls (such as the Sand Cat, Otter), to teen girls (such as the protagonist Serval, her Manga exclusive friend Caracal, the two foxes), and older, stronger figures (the Grey Wolf, Lion, Moose). Especially dog/cat girls, the Japanese absolutely lovedthis stuff.
This became a strong basis for Kemono friends to start with - I mean come on, some of us are perverts and are just here for the cute girls, aren't we?
Because of the nature of the show and the game it's based off, except most felines that wore a white tank-top with a bow tie on their neck, and a dress that matches their real-life patterns and fur colour (with Lion and the game-only Tiger being exceptions), the Friends featured usually wears school uniform-like "fur" - their understanding of clothes as they don't even know they are detachable instead of stuck onto their skin, that matches their colouring and their age, which just makes them even more beloved by the Japanese. This also prevented them from being extra revealing, unlike the meta where girls are super booby and sexy and/or wear something that can barely be called as clothes, unless they are conditioned so, such as the Otter who wore full-body swimsuits instead because she is accustomed to water. (Probably with the exception of Emperor Penguin, but she's a penguin, afterall......)
2. Serval, along with her friendship with Kaban-chan, and some other small details that REALLY suited Japanese's taste on the whole.
We all wanted a cute girl that is energetic, ever-trusting, sees everything you do as if it is something incredible, brainlessly dumb yet brave like a never-ending sunshine, don't we (at least for the Japs, again)? Partnering her with a shy, powerless but smart girl, and you get one hell of a moe combo.
Fun-fact: One of the reasons why Kemono Friends exploded is its cute OP. Not only it is voiced by a few good VAs and has a very good, lightheartly melody, it's about "Welcome to Japari Park anytime!","No need to pretend, feel free to be here!", which is EXACTLY why the Japanese are pretty insane - They always have to maintain polite even when they wanted to throw punches into someone's face, heavily staged-society where you need to be 100% obedient, pressuring lives, etc., and Kemono Friends' apocalyptic yet paradise-like world where problematic people are gone, while only animal girls that always welcomed your arrival is just what they needed in such a crapsack world of theirs.
Because of the very different culture between the East and the West, it is understandable why it is kinda crazy in Japan and sometimes China, it doesn't work very well in the West especially when the things of interest is very different.
3. Anti-meta storyboards that somehow worked, and the effort put into the story despite its very limited budget.
Sometimes, instead of killing everybody, with the remaining goes totally bonkers, the world threw into absolute chaos, all we need is just something we can truly love endearingly without screwing everyone's brain over with some over-the-top philosophy. (I'm looking at you Evangelion and all those chouuni animes out there)
We had enough stuff in our real life that we'd absolutely wanted to just go "screw everyone", and while we can't deny some of the more serious toned story such as Gundam are so well-written and awesome, we already had more than enough to bear in our lives and the least we wanted is someone you loved is slapped into a bloody mess (which is the reason why there is almost an outrage when something bad happened to Kaban-chan during late story), but wanted some cute girls doing some cute stuff instead.
Japanese' tough, cramped society life, in fact, helps more than enough in terms of this - Not everyone wanted to put a load of stress by seeing others die painfully, and some are already sick of the booby bounces and maid dresses other animes are providing. Because of the extremely bad CGI, the lack of obvious fan-servicing actually avoided this is a fabulous manner.
The story is painfully normal for a children's story, but you will find some small details that make people wonder quite a bit, which is the main reason why Kemono Friends suddenly exploded in popularity, as well as showing how much small-but-noticable details are put despite the poor budget the anime is given with. For people who don't know about its background, before Kemono Friends exploded in Japan, someone who watched the anime somehow analyzed the out-of-pace ED of the Anime, and found out that the seemingly random photos are in fact pictures of real-life abandoned theme parks. Given that this story is based on a place called Japari Park, people are like, what the absolute hell? Which caused it to gain massive popularity afterwards.
There are also numerous small details that many have created theories to try and explain everything, or just otherwise are unexpected and gives more flavor to the story. For example, Serval's famous pendulum swing which became a meme is in fact what a real-life serval cat does to compensate the lack of 3D vision, and much more.
4. It's somehow so addicting to watch.
http://images.sgcafe.net/2017/04/b40.jpg
<Above image sums what's now with my mind.
Really, once you get with it, this anime really gets into your head and you don't really know why. And no, I am not high on drugs.
DrewThePoochyena
I'll be honest, when i first heard about this Anime, I thought it was a joke, especially with the low budget CGI. But since this show was gaining popularity so quickly, I'd thought i would give it a try too. After watching the first episode I thought...it was okay, better than I expected. After watching episodes 2 and 3 I thought it was getting better. By episode 7....I finally understood. This Anime is more than just a show aimed towards a younger audience, This is a show that takes you on a whimsical adventure with well designed settings and amazingly well thought out characters. Don'tlet the clunky slightly awkward 3D animation fool you, this is an Anime in it's own league.
What I love about this anime is it's Story, Setting and Characters. Sure the animation is a bit strange, but it's definitely something you can get used to the more you watch, but for what they have to present, the characters and settings are very well designed. You've got wide open savannahs, vine filled jungles, gorgeous country-styled lakes and rivers, brimming deserts and even a snowy tundra area complete with a hot-tub spot
The Characters are what definitely sells me on this, I love cute animals, and with the cast they were able to fit in this 12 episode season were phenomenol choices and creations. Most of these "Friends" have unique personalities and traits that are based on their animal of origin, leading to a ton of fun possibilities with interractions between them and our main characters and setting up fun situations for our heroines to go through. For example, the wise owl duo enjoy being humanoids but wish to experience more with what they couldn't do as normal owls like enjoying a fully cooked meal, so they have Kaban cook for them in exchange for info about who she is.
My favorite characters are Serval, American Beaver, Prarie Dog, Alpaca, Northern White-faced Owl, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Silver Fox, Sakhalin Fox and Margay.
And finally one of the best parts of this show is that it teaches you about Animals and Wildlife, mostly about things you probably wouldn't have known unless you were a Zoologist. I personally had no idea what a Serval was before watching this show, now i'm practically obsessed with these things.
If you do plan to watch this show, keep in mind that it will start out a bit slow, give it about until episodes 3-5 to hook you in, and enjoy
AcePleiades
This is established within a few minutes of the first episode: Kemono Friends starts as the story of Kaban, a girl lost in a savanna, meeting up with Friends (girls with animal characteristics, such as ears, tails and behavior to some extent), and trying to figure out what kind of species she is (which is obvious to the viewer: Kaban is human). However, what the story is actually about is the development of Kaban's character as she makes friends in an unknown world. Trying to help Friends and being helped, the meek girl slowly discovers her qualities and starts to believe in herself. This aspect ofthe story, of self discovery and improvement, is very satisfying to watch. This isn't, however, the only likable aspect of Kemono friends.
I've seen reviewers say that you can only grasp if this is a show for you after watching the second episode. This is, however, untrue. The first episode is a good representation of what you will see happening most of the time on this show. This also includes quality drops in animation, which are unfortunately present within the first minutes of the first episode.
Kemono friends is a story about friendship. It portraits things such as affection; sympathy; empathy; honesty; altruism; mutual understanding and compassion. While real friendship is a very long and complex process, this show does well on establishing convincing friendships between its characters (given how short is is, even if full length), which is pleasant to watch.
Most characters, however, get very little screen time, and one may or mat not care for them enough to keep watching and keep discovering new characters.
Not only the setting is interesting, but is presented in an interesting way. Kemono friends is an excellent example of "show, don't tell". Even if this is a show targeted towards children, there are aspects about the story that you need to think and discuss quite a bit to understand. Doing this can be very interesting. However, it's not necessary to enjoy the main aspects of the story.
The character designs are inventive and pretty. Even if the animation is lackluster, and sometimes outright bad, you only need to see the amount of fan art made for this show to understand how much the character designs are highly acclaimed. The voice actresses manage to pay homage to these designs.
The worst aspects of Kemono Friends are the quality drops in animation and repetitive, unremarkable soundtrack.
The amount of enjoyment that I got out of Kemono Friends is outstanding. Throughout the final episode, many scenes made me very emotional. This was only made possible through the convincing friendships that were established throughout the show (as I mentioned earlier) and what these characters meant for me. Anime has not made me this emotional in a long time. For this reason. I rate Kemono Friends 10/10. It doesn't need to be perfect to be a masterpiece.
LegendaryRQA
I really wanted to like Kemono Friends. I really did. After all; a show that manages to create a cult following strong enough to rekindle interest in Zoos must be doing something right. Though I have failed to figure out what that is, unfortunately... At first glance, Kemono Friends looks like a cheaply made Slice of Life show with cute animal girls and little else to its merit; and although the people who coaxed me into watching this show would argue, it's basically exactly that. Kemono Friends has little to set it apart from the run of the mill "cute girls doing cute things" shows weget at least 2 of every season other then its setting, but this time i would argue that the characters aren't even particularly cute...
Aesthetics:
Put simply... The show looks bad... It's done entirely in CGI by a small team with few resources and it definitely shows... be it jankie movement or lip flaps that don't match the characters speech, the whole show is just awful to look at (somewhat of a big deal for a visual medium...) When it comes to this part of the show one of two things will happen. Either you won't be able to get past just how ugly the it looks and that feeling never goes away, or you will get use to it to the point where it doesn't bother you anymore and you only notice it when it screws up... Which it does... A lot... This is a shame as many scene could have been vastly improved had the animation been hand drawn rather then CGI.
Character Design is rather subjective so i won't dwell on it to long. Personally, I don't find them to be particularly appealing or cute. The show does its job of personifying the characters respective animals, but some (not all) seem to be a tab bit overdesigned. With weirdly long gloves and out of place bow-ties, some of the characters just seem a bit off. That isn't to say that a couple of the characters don't hit the nail on the head with their designs, just that a lot of them are a bit off the mark.
Sound:
The voice acting in this show seems rushed at best and phoned in at worst. A lot of the deliveries lack emotional depth and the voice actors don't seem particularly invested. Perhaps it's because the material given to them doesn't give them much to work with or the general air of cheapness surrounding the show makes otherwise good aspects seem much worse then they actually are, but in the end it just sound rather bland. There is no English Version as of this writing, so it's impossible to say wherever that is any better.
The music in the show is one of it's few strong suits. With a whole 2 tracks being average. Thous being the battle theme, and ending theme. With the rest being largely mediocre and forgettable. The main theme of the show is a generic "You're in Africa" track and chances are, if you've ever seen a cartoon with a scene that takes place in Africa, you've heard something rather similar. The Opening theme is passable, but i didn't end up watching it more then once as it didn't contain anything extraordinary, and the song was average at best. The ending theme, on the other hand, was rather pleasant and helped sooth the headache that the show caused me over the past 20 minutes. Although nothing special, it did its job of calming the mood and closing out the show with a relaxing tune. Lastly, the battle theme is on of the few things in this Anime i thoroughly enjoyed. Every time it started, smirked in excitement as it made every fight seem more dynamic even if what was actually happening on screen wasn't all that impressive.
Writing and Characters:
Many would argue that this is one of the show's strong suits, and although it isn't straight up bad like the rest of the show, it still barely manages to achieve average. The story revolves around Bag (a lost human) and Serval (a cute cat-girl). Roaming an island inhabited by humanized animals. Wile trying to find out what animal Bag is, they meet several characters or "friends" (hence the name) and pick up a few mysteries along the way (because in all reality no one would watch this show unless there was some sort of hook to keep interest). The show is very episodic, with each episode largely focusing on two or three characters at a time and their respective problems; with a string of clues to a mystery that lousily keeps the show together and moving along. This leads to the episodes being rather formulaic, and each plot being telegraphed far in advance. Seeing as every individual character only appears for a short time none of them get properly developed or have any sort of progression other then Bag herself. This leads to characters that are mostly 2 dimensional (beaver likes to build things but is bad at it. She later gets good at it. That's it. That's the extent of her character), or in the worst cases characters that are completely 1 dimensional, though that only happens about 2 or 3 times throughout the show. Many of them make odd decisions and unrealistic actions for the sake of plot convenience. To use specific examples without spoiling anything; one character fails to figure out that the person she is chasing and hates is the same person who she's being hearing great things about and has become a fan of... Or the PPP, a pop-idol group that was never mentioned before hand (outside of episode previews) who are supposed to be famous all around the island. As for the aforementioned mystery, there isn't much to it, and anyone paying any attention beyond "none" will probably figure out rather quickly where the show is going. Though to be perfectly fair; this is from the prospective of someone who watched it mostly in one sitting rather then on a week-to-week basis as it was intended.
The show also has these odd clips of experts talking about the given animals in each episode. Although novel, these clips feel largely forced and down-right crigy at times. They don't add much and the Anime would have probably been fine without them, but at the very least they are concise and don't overstay their welcome.
All in all the show cute, and easy to digest. Nothing overly complicated happens and if all you are looking for is a wholesome time with cute animal girls with not to much substance that you can just turn your brain off and enjoy, this show fits the bill fine (I personally found myself in a rare situation of needing to pause the episode to stop laughing at a rather well executed gag). That being said there isn't much substance here, and it doesn't hold up to critical thinking particularly well, and unlike other shows with the same issue it doesn't anything else extraordinarily well to make up for it. If you just want to watch cute anime girls doing various things there are better options out there that do it far better then this.
Nilsou
"Kemono Friends is the Evangelion of our Millenium" A man with good taste on a random topic When i read this critical the first time i thank that it was kind of exageration or moron fan reactions. So you can imagine my shock when, when i tried this anime, i understood that this man was absolutly, 100% in the true. Kemono friends is a complex masterpiece with a truely special scenario that talk about friendship, perversions and discover of life in a way that i had never encounter in my life. After seing this anime you are, truely, a different person. Of course the animation is oneof the badest animation i have ever seen, but it is really forgetable after discovering the other strong points of this masterpiece. The story, the character writing, etc etc ...
I can't say too much without falling into spoilers, but if you have read this critical, please, let see Kemono Friends and let it enter in your life. You will see thing in a all new way after that.
YungGreyscale29
This is one of my favorite anime's of all time. The cg took a little to get around, but once you accept it, it is actually a beautiful animation to the show. I love this anime because of how cute it is, I personally watch Moe so that I can catch some second hand happy, and Kimono Friends is cg anti-depressants. This show makes me happy, just watching all the friends go about their lives and interact is so entertaining. Also the story creeps up, you don't realize how deep the story is until the last few episodes, but then it all starts to makesense. Kemono Friends is an easy 11 in my book. If you are thinking about watching it, please do, you will not regret it. Its too warm of a show to pass up.
HodginsIsBae
Spoiler-free review: I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Kemono Friends. The first couple of episodes didn't grip me, but it grew on me the more I watched. The story is kept fairly simple. Kaban and Serval set off on an adventure to the library to find out what kind of Friend Kaban is. Along the way we learn about Japari Park, its history and secrets, but not much. A lot is left out which will hopefully be covered in the upcoming season. Along the way we are also introduced to a superbly designed cast of characters. Every character somewhat resembles their respective animal whilealso looking unbearably cute. Their personality is also influenced by how their respective animal acts. However, here lies a problem. Almost none of them go past their initial couple of traits. With so many characters, there just isn't enough time to flesh them out. The Friends inhabit diverse biomes ranging from scorching deserts to freezing tundras. However, the world feels rather empty because it's void of detail, which leads me to the elephant in the room - the animation. Anyone struggling with 3D or CG animation is gonna have a hard time going through this show. Every character's movements feel incredibly stiff and corners are cut almost everywhere, but I'd have to argue this works in the show's favor. It looks really cheap, making it feel more like a passion project than a product.
In conclusion, Kemono Friends is greater than the sum of its parts. While not being something spectacular, it's definitely a unique experience that I'll cherish.
